Some folks see having and raising children as a pivotal part of their lives, and in The Sims 4: Parenthood game pack, no more guessing whether or not you’re a good parent – your Parenting skills finally have several levels of measurable metrics!

Whether you’re trying to encourage only the best behaviors in Toddler, Child, or Teen Sims, see to it that your new Infant thrives during their earliest days of life, or just want to make sure your kids grow up to have a good life, the Parenting skill helps expand the interactions your Sims can have with their children.

Parenting Skill Overview

Our Sims have always been able to have kids, but The Sims 4: Parenthood pack introduced Parenting as a measurable skill for the first time.

With the pack installed, your Sims will still go about life and have children as normal, but once they’ve become parents, they’ll be determined to be effective parents to their children.

Beginning from the day they bring home their brand new bundle of joy to the day that Sim becomes a Young Adult, the Parenting skill will be active with the Parenthood pack gameplay.

Through this, you’ll be able to routinely experience Teachable Moments when playing as the parent Sim, which sees your child come to you for advice about something.

As you get better at the Parenting skill in The Sims 4: Parenthood, your options for these Teachable Moments expand – you’ll have additional choices available and will eventually be able to preview the full impact of each choice before you make it.

Between the time your Child Sim is born to the time they become a Young Adult, you’ll have a bevy of interactions with them that help your Sim build their Parenting skill.

The Parenting interactions from the social menu when clicking on a child Sim when playing as their parent are a guaranteed way to build your Sim’s Parenting skill.

Though you’ll definitely want to foster a good relationship with your children, your Sim doesn’t seem to build the Parenting skill from regular interactions with their kids.

Parent-and-child interactions that build the Parenting skill for your Sim are:

Your Sim can also work on building their Parenting skill in their (limited) downtime when the kids are busy by reading Parenting books or by Reading Parenting Forums on any computer.

Teachable Moments

As your little Sims grow up, you’ll be able to begin giving them advice during Teachable Moments beginning when they age into Child Sims. This option carries through the Teen years as well.

Acting much like chance cards you’d experience in careers, these pop-up notifications feature your child (or the administration at their school, if the pop-up is during school hours) asking for advice on something.

This can be anything from losing a favorite toy with Child Sims to existential dread questions with Teens, and it’s up to your parent Sim to make heads or tails of things for their child.

Each possible answer for every Teachable Moment will raise one Character Value while lowering another, so it’s up to you to strike a delicate balance to ensure your Child Sim grows up as well as possible.

Helpful Traits To Give Parent Sims

It goes without saying that the Family-Oriented trait is an incredibly helpful one for your parent Sim to have, since you’ll be spending quite a lot of time around your nuclear family.

This trait not only means they’ll enjoy their family time more, but they’ll be able to soothe Toddlers in bad moods by expressing their love or trying to talk them down.

Just be mindful that Family-Oriented Sims gain Sad moodlets after a while away from family, so plan accordingly if you need them to take time away from the household for any reason.

Since children tend to respond best to positivity, the Cheerful, Goofball, Good, and Outgoing traits are all safe bets for interacting with them.

Additionally, the Childish trait can come in handy when parenting your children, as it helps your Sim to feel either Playful or Happy when playing with their kids.

You’d do well to avoid the Erratic, Gloomy, Hot-Headed, Neat, or Evil traits, as these tend to lead to negative moodlets for your Sim, which their smaller Sims will definitely pick up on.

And finally, unless you’re directly seeking a challenge, don’t make a Sim with the Hates Children trait have kids.

The Hates Children trait is only available for Young Adults and up, and they’ll gain a plethora of negative moodlets from spending time with Infants, Toddlers, and Children.

Every Level Of The Parenting Skill

Below, you’ll find detailed information on what unlocks at each level of the Parenting skill in The Sims 4: Parenthood.

Your Sim will gain access to new abilities that make them a more effective parent as they build their Parenting skill, which may help build the Parenting skill that much faster.

What Unlocks At Each Level Of The Parenting Skill?

* When your Sim uses the “Find Out What’s Wrong” interaction, you’ll be able to tell what the Infant needs by the symbol that appears in a thought bubble over its head so you can then manually address the problem.